Listed Below:

1. Foster Child Bill of Rights
2. Oklahoma Foster Parent Bill of Rights 

Foster Child Bill of Rights

Ratified in Congress Hall, Philadelphia
Saturday, the Twenty-eighth of April, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Three

Reaffirmed during the National Focus on Foster Care Conference, Norfolk, Virginia

Wednesday, the Fourth of May, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Three

Even more than for other children, society has a responsibility, along with parents, for the well-being of children in foster care. Citizens are responsible for acting to insure their welfare.

Every child in foster care is endowed with the rights inherently belonging to all children. In addition, because of the temporary or permanent separation from, and loss of, parents and other family members, the child requires special safeguards, resources, and care.

EVERY CHILD IN FOSTER CARE HAS THE INHERENT RIGHT:

Article the first
....to be cherished by a family of his own, either his family helped by readily available services and supports to resume his care, or an adoptive family or, by plan, a continuing foster family.

Article the second
....to be nurtured by foster parents who have been selected to meet his individual needs, and who are provided services and supports, including specialized education, so that they can grow in their ability to enable the child to reach his potentiality.

Article the third
....to receive sensitive, continuing help in understanding and accepting the reasons for his own family's inability to take care of him, and in developing confidence in his own self worth.

Article the fourth
....to receive continuing loving care and respect as a unique human being...a child growing in trust in himself and others.

Article the fifth

....to grow up in freedom and dignity in a neighborhood of people who accept him with understanding, respect and friendship.

Article the sixth
....to receive help in overcoming deprivation or whatever distortion in his emotional, physical, intellectual, social and spiritual growth may have resulted from his early experiences.

Article the seventh
....to receive education, training, and career guidance to prepare for a useful and satisfying life.

Article the eighth

....to receive preparation for citizenship and parenthood through interaction with foster parents and other adults who are consistent role models.

Article the ninth

....to be represented by an attorney-at-law in administrative or judicial proceedings with access to fair hearings and court review of decisions, so that his best interests are safeguarded.

 Article the tenth

....to receive a high quality of child welfare services, including involvement of the natural parents and his own involvement in major decisions that affect his life.

Oklahoma Foster Parents Bill of Rights

For the full statement of rights see 10 O.S. § 7206.1

A foster parent's rights shall include, but not be limited to, the

right to:

1. Be treated with dignity, respect, and consideration;

2. Be notified of and be given appropriate training;

3. Be informed about ways to contact state agencies to assisst in accessing supportive services for children;

4. Receive timely financial reimbursement;

5. Be notified of any costs or expenses for which the foster parent may be eligible for reimbursement;

6. Be provided a clear, written explanation of the service plan concerning the child in the foster parent's home;

7. Receive additional or necessary information that is relevant to the care of the child;

8. Be notified of scheduled review meetings, permanency planning meetings and special staffings;

9. Provide input concerning the plan of services for the child;

10. Communicate with other foster parents to share information regarding the foster child;

11. Communicate with other professionals who work with the foster child;

12. Be given pertinent information regarding the child and family;

13. Be given reasonable notice of any change in or addition to the services provided to the child;

14. a. Be given written notice of:

(1) plans to terminate the placement of the child with the foster parent, and

(2) the reasons for the changes or termination in placement, and

b. The notice shall be waived only in emergency cases pursuant to Section 7028 of this title;

15. Be notified of the date, time, and location of all court hearings;

16. Be informed of decisions made by the court, the state agency or the child-placing agency concerning the child;

17. Be considered as a preferred placement option when a foster child re-enter’s foster care;

18. Be provided a fair and timely investigation of complaints concerning the foster parent's certification;

19. Be provided the opportunity to request/receive a fair hearing regarding certification retention or placement of children in the home;

20. Be allowed the right to exercise parental substitute authority;

21. Have timely access to an appeal process and to be free fromacts of harassment and retaliation;

22. Be given the number of the statewide toll-free Foster Parent Hotline; and

23. File a grievance and be informed of the process for filing a grievance.